CDC Data Shows Overdose deaths hit a record high

According to preliminary data from the CDC and Prevention, drug overdose deaths reached a new high in the 12 months ending in March, with about 97,000 deaths reported.Overdose deaths increased 29.6% in the year ending March 2020, according to preliminary statistics from the CDC National Center for Health Statistics. During the first year of the pandemic, the pandemic’s fatality count reached an all-time high.

The figure is tentative, according to the federal office, and the actual number of deaths will likely be higher once death records are finalised. The overall number of actual overdose deaths anticipated by the centre for the 12 months ending in March exceeds 99,000.

According to the data, overdose deaths increased in all states except New Hampshire, New Jersey, and South Dakota. The death toll through March tops the previous record set for 2020, which according to July data reached 93,331 overdose fatalities.The surge in overdose deaths comes after they slightly decreased in 2018 for the first time in decades. But the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns and overall more seclusion and drew more health resources toward the virus and away from addressing drug use.

Vermont had the largest increase in overdose deaths of any state. Reported overdose deaths in Vermont rose 85.1% from March 2020 to March 2021. Vermont also saw the largest increase in the February dataset. CDC also added that last year they saw the largest single-year increase in drug overdose deaths ever reported in the United States, with more than 93,000 deaths in 2020